FREE RRT Questions And Answers
What diagnostic tests might a respiratory therapist perform?
Respiratory therapists may assist in performing X-rays to diagnose lung and chest conditions.
What is the purpose of a nebulizer treatment?
Nebulizers are used to administer medication directly to the lungs, especially for patients with respiratory conditions
What is the main role of a respiratory therapist?
Respiratory therapists specialize in treating patients with breathing and cardiopulmonary disorders.
The respiratory therapist decides to evaluate the patient's peripheral circulation and capillary refill after having trouble getting a reading with a pulse oximeter's finger probe. After a brief compression, the nail bed on the right index finger turns pink once more after one second. Which of the following is suggested by this?
In less than two seconds, the nail bed will turn pink once more under normal circulation and perfusion. The nail bed would be bluish if there was cyanosis. Anemia has no impact on this particular test unless the anemia is severe, in which case the nail bed would not ""pink up.""
What is the purpose of incentive spirometry?
Incentive spirometry helps patients improve lung function and prevent respiratory complications.
Paramedics take a 20-year-old female patient to the emergency room (ED) after she briefly lost consciousness following a collision with another basketball player. The patient's SpO2 is 98% on room air upon arrival, and her heart rate is 95. Her respiratory rate is also 16. Hematocrit is 44 and hemoglobin is 11.0, according to the venous blood draw. How should these findings be presented?
Hematocrit, SpO2, heart rate, and respiratory rate are all within normal ranges. Low hemoglobin levels. SpO2 94%-99%, pulse 60-80 bpm, respiratory rate 12-20 rpm, hemoglobin 12-15 g/dL, and hematocrit 37%-46% are considered to be within normal ranges.
Which of the following is NOT a duty of a respiratory therapist?
Providing dental cleanings is not within the scope of practice for respiratory therapists.
A study of the doctor's prescriptions for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation who was admitted to an acute care unit reveals that Combivent q4h and DuoNeb q4h were among the drugs prescribed. Which of these tasks is the respiratory therapist's responsibility?
A respiratory therapist is not permitted to alter doctor's orders, ignore them, or merely modify them. However, despite having distinct names and dosage forms, Combivent and DuoNeb are the same drugs (albuterol plus atrovent). The respiratory therapist should get in touch with the doctor to let them know about the duplicate and ask for more advice.
When a respiratory therapist meets a patient for the first time, she observes that the patient can only answer questions in two- or three-word sentences, breaking up longer answers by pausing to breathe. What inferences about this speech pattern can the respiratory therapist safely draw?
All we know for sure is that there is a reduced vital capacity (shallow breathing). Some people who have suffered a chest wall injury or undergone thoracic or abdominal surgery will breathe more slowly as a result of the pain. In addition, a number of lung diseases and neuromuscular conditions can make a patient's breathing shallow. The other responses draw conclusions that are not backed up by our observation.
A 45-year-old girl who began smoking at age 15 is the first patient we see today for an examination. She claims to smoke 1.5 packs a day and to have given up smoking for a year while carrying each of her two children. Her hubby smokes as well. How should this smoking history be entered into the patient's record?
This is the succinct, accepted method of reporting this data, which is most helpful for evaluating the patient and her current condition. It is widely acknowledged as the recognized metric for determining smoking history.
Pack-years = number of packs per day x number of years smoked
The other responses lack specificity.
Which of the following conditions might a respiratory therapist treat?
Asthma is a common respiratory disorder that respiratory therapists often treat.
During a routine examination, the patient becomes apneic and then asystolic. The respiratory therapist observes that the patient's records says that the patient has a code status of "Do not resuscitate." What should the respiratory therapist do out of these options?
The duty is to notify the charge nurse as soon as possible if the patient gets asystolic and then becomes apneic. Resuscitation procedures including chest compressions, intubation, and bag-mask breathing are all against the wishes of this patient, as shown by their ""do not resuscitate"" code status.
Which type of patients might require continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)?
CPAP is commonly used to treat sleep apnea by providing continuous airflow to keep the airway open.
What is the primary purpose of mechanical ventilation?
Mechanical ventilation assists patients who are unable to breathe effectively on their own.
Which of the following might a respiratory therapist do during a bronchoscopy?
Anesthesia is often administered during a bronchoscopy to ensure patient comfort.
During a physical examination of a 20-year-old male, high-pitched wheezing was audible throughout the lung field. The patient claims that while his wheezing is audible, it doesn't bother him much and that he feels a bit out of breath. He observes that it typically occurs after mowing the yard. Which of the following could we suggest to the doctor?
Despite not being particularly severe, the general wheezing in the lung field raises the potential of asthma. The connection between these episodes and grass mowing lends weight to this as a potential diagnosis. The methacholine challenge test and fundamental spirometry will confirm or disprove the diagnosis of asthma. The albuterol inhaler may help with the wheezing, but it won't reveal much about the cause.